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IFS report on automation is
propaganda for wage cuts
UNITE, Britain's biggest Union, has branded a report
on the automation of jobs and the minimum wage as propaganda for employers who
want an excuse to cut wages in real terms.
The report released on 4 January 2018 from the Institute for Fiscal Studies
claims that any further increases in the UK's national living wage should be
subject to "extremely careful monitoring" as it could lead to redundancies by
encouraging employers to automate jobs.
But Unite has hit back, warning that this amounts to yet another attack on
ordinary workers already facing the weakest pay growth since the Napoleonic
wars. In contrast, Unite is developing a 21st century workplace manifesto on
automation demanding that ordinary working people benefit from new technology.
Unite Executive Officer, Sharon Graham said:- "This report is just
propaganda for employers who want an excuse to suppress wages. I don't suppose
that economists at the Institute for Fiscal Studies are asking for pay cuts to
protect themselves from robots. They know that 'Industry 4.0' is going to
generate enormous amounts of wealth and we need automaton to deliver for society
not just bigger profits. Why not demand a shorter working week and a decent
retirement? The IFS seems to think that it should be just like the 1980's. Then
we lost jobs and wages to technology while boardrooms profited. But this time
workers can and should get their share. Of course, the best way to defend your
job and get the most out of automation is also the best way to keep your pay
above the minimum wage; get organised in a Union."
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